Yahoo Shares Fall on C.E.O.’s Comments

Yahoo’s new chief executive, made at a companywide meeting Wednesday. After reports that Ms. Bartz wasn’t sold on the idea of selling Yahoo’s search business to Microsoft, investors sent Yahoo shares plunging 6.5 percent on Thursday.

Ms. Bartz, of course, did not say she was or would be opposed to a deal. And she also said she had held informal talks with Steven A. Ballmer, the Microsoft chief executive, since being tapped for the top job at Yahoo.

Analysts cautioned investors not to read too much into Ms. Bartz’s comments.

“I don’t get the sense that she is the kind of person who is dismissing things on her first day on the job,” said Ross Sandler, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. “She is going to assess the situation and decide what’s best for Yahoo.” Mr. Sandler said many traders and hedge funds had bought Yahoo shares in anticipation of a quick gain following Ms. Bartz’s appointment, and those traders may be responsible for the sharp sell-off.

Scott Kessler, an analyst with Standard & Poor’s, said Ms. Bartz might have simply been indicating that selling assets when the company’s value is near a historic low is not a good idea.

The companywide meeting itself was closed to outsiders. But Yahoo posted pictures the event on Flickr. There are several shots of Ms. Bartz in action, including one in which she walks on stage holding hands with Sue Decker, Yahoo’s departing president and a candidate for the chief executive job. Ms. Decker was quite emotional, according to a person who attended the event. Jerry Yang, back to his role as “Chief Yahoo,” also makes a couple of appearances in the photographs, including a shot with Ms. Bartz and Ms. Decker.